PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 288: FEAST OF DEDICATION

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 288: FEAST OF DEDICATION

Have you dedicated your temple (your body) to the Lord? Have you dedicated your home to the Lord? What about your children? To "train" your children means to "dedicate them to His service." Check it out.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Always great to be with you! As I am recording today, we are in the middle of the Hanukkah celebration which is celebrated for eight days. I don’t know whether any of you love to celebrate Hanukkah. Some of you may. Some of you may have never ever heard of it, but I thought I would share a little bit about it with you today, because it is a very wonderful festival.

It’s not one of the feasts of the Lord that are mentioned in the Bible, but it is a Jewish feast that is still very important. Jesus Himself went up to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. It is called different names.

It’s called “Hanukkah.” That is the Hebrew word for “dedication.” In John 10:22, we read how Jesus was in Jerusalem to keep the “Feast of the Dedication”. That’s the feast we’re talking about. It’s also called the “Festival of Lights.” It has many, many stories and meanings about it.

Some of you will have heard of the Maccabees. That was a very courageous family who stood up for God in the midst of their society at that time. To me, Hanukkah is a little replica, really, of what we are facing in some ways today, because back then, Israel, the Jews, were being taken over by the Seleucid empire, a Greek empire governed by Antiochus Epiphanes.

He set out to eradicate everything of the Jewish religion. They were not allowed to circumcise. In fact, if they found out that a mother had circumcised her baby, they would kill that baby, and the mother would have to go round with the baby hanging around her neck. Such was the horror of what they were doing. They were not allowed to keep the Sabbath. They were not allowed to keep any of their laws.

Antiochus Epiphanes was trying to eradicate and burn every scroll of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi. That’s the Tanakh, the whole of the Old Testament. They were on scrolls in those days. Wherever he could find them, he would burn them. Antiochus Epiphanes wanted to eradicate everything. He wanted globalism, really, which, of course, we are facing today.

The governing bodies want everybody to be the same, have the same thinking, the same language, the same gender, same sex, same-sex marriage; just what we are facing today; all these evil things. No one was allowed to worship God in the way they wanted. There was no freedom, no liberty.

But this family rose up against this mighty king, or governor of this whole empire. It is amazing what happened. It’s amazing what can happen when people of courage stand up! Let me tell you a little bit of the beginning of this story. The governor sent his troops to this little town or village of Modi’in. There they tried to get the people in that town to turn away from the Lord.

Mattathias was a priest in those days. He had five sons, and most probably had daughters too, although it doesn’t mention his daughters. It says that when Mattathias saw what they were doing to influence his people that he cried out in a loud voice: “What do I care if everyone in the king’s entire kingdom turns from their own religion and starts obeying his laws? My family and I will always keep the promises our ancestors made to God. We will never give up our faith, or disobey even one of God’s laws. We will not obey Antiochus!”

That was his confession, even in the midst of everyone caving into this king Antiochus. Even after Antiochus Epiphanes said those words, a cowardly Jew stepped forward to obey the king by offering a sacrifice. But Mattathias was so furious that he rushed over, killed the man, destroyed the altar, and killed the official who ordered the sacrifice! Then he and his sons ran to the hills, leaving everything they owned behind. That was the beginning of their starting a revolt, and really, guerilla warfare against this whole huge Seleucid army. Wow!

We may not be quite facing it like they did today, but we are facing challenges in this hour where many people are being brainwashed to put away their God-given mandates. But we dare not give up. When you give up one thing, you have to give up the next thing. We must stand true. It has always saddened me that, although we’re forgetting about it now, but back in 2021-22, so close to not long ago, how many churches caved in, because the governing bodies said, “OK, we must not meet in churches.”

Instead of people standing up for truth and what was right, standing up for the Constitution that gives us all freedom to meet and be with believers, and God’s Word, they caved in! Isn’t it amazing how people can cave in? But this Maccabees family, as they came to be known, they did not cave in.

The five brave sons were John, Simon, Judas (he was the one known as “Judas Maccabeus),” Eleazar, and Jonathan. You can actually read about them if you go to the Apocrypha and read the books of 1 Maccabeus and 2 Maccabeus. The Apocrypha are interesting books, many historical books, but they weren’t included in the canon of Scripture. For some reason, whatever reason, it was thought that every book that is in the Apocrypha was not totally divinely inspired.

But the Maccabees books are history. They are quite well worth reading. We see the continuing fighting as they tried to stand up against this huge army. There was another time we can read about in the book of the Maccabees. Let me see if I can find that story for you. Yes, this was a time when Judas was leading, because the father, Mattathias, had died. This time, 20,000 men of their enemy came against them. They could only number 6,000. They were the minority against the majority.

Even Judas’ right-hand men were so concerned. “How can we come against this huge army?” But Judas confessed, and he says this is in 1 Maccabees 3: “When all his followers saw the host coming against them, they said to Judas, ‘How can so few of us fight against so many? Besides, we have had nothing to eat all day, and we are exhausted!’ Judas replied, ‘Many can easily be overpowered by a few. It makes no difference to heaven, to save by many, or by few! Victory does not depend on our numbers. Strength comes from heaven alone. Heaven will crush them before our eyes. You need not be afraid of them.’”

True to his confession, they were able to have the victory in that war. Today, we also stand up against enemies bigger than us. Sometimes that is nationally. Sometimes it’s even in your own immediate circumstances. You may be facing enemies that loom so much bigger than you. “How can I ever face this? It’s so much bigger than me!”

Can I remind you today, lovely ladies, that even though it’s bigger than you, God is bigger than your problem, bigger than your enemy, bigger than the circumstances that are so overwhelming to you. Be encouraged by these words when Moses was speaking on the behalf of God.

As they were going to go into the Promised Land, he said: “Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims” (Those were the giants. Yes, they were going to face giants! So much bigger than them!)

It says: “the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, who can stand before the children of Anak! Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire He shall destroy them, and He shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.” That’s a wonderful promise. You can read it again in Deuteronomy chapter nine.

You notice there, and this is something that happens over and over in the Scriptures, where God says: “I will be with you. I will go before you, and I will destroy them. I will bring them down!” But then He says: “But you shall drive them out.”

It’s interesting, that although God works on our behalf, He also wants us to work. As we look to Him instead of looking to our circumstances, as we look up to Him, when we look up to the Lord, He’ll show us His way. As He shows His way, then we can act. We can do what God wants us to do. God will work for you, but He also wants you to work too. He will show you what He wants you to do.

These Maccabees, these brave soldiers of this family, gathered many, many to be with them, although they were still a minority. But eventually, they were able to get back the temple which Antiochus Epiphanes had desecrated. He had even gone into the temple and slaughtered a pig on the altar, the most terrible abomination in the holy temple of God.

When they were able to secure the temple again, which was miraculous, it was so filthy and filled with junk. It had to be cleaned out and it had to be cleansed. Then, of course, they wanted to begin all the things that God had told them to do in the temple. The altar of sacrifice, and then going into the Holy Place to put out the table of showbread again, to put there the altar of incense, and the menorah, the golden candlestick.

Right back in Exodus, God told them all the pieces of furniture that they were to make for the Holy Place. Every one of them was after the pattern that God gave them. It was the pattern of the heavenly Holy Place. It was the pattern of the heavenly furniture.

One of the pieces was called the “Golden Lampstand.” It was made out of one piece, one piece of pure gold, twenty-five talents, which they say was about 75 to 100 pounds of pure gold. It was very intricate. All these special things had to be designed on it.

It looked like a tree. It represented the Tree of Life. Three branches came out from one side, and three from the other. There was the main branch in the middle. There were seven lamps at the top of each branch. Seven lamps speaking of perfection.

And, amazingly, ladies, John saw this lampstand in the heavenly realm! Revelation begins with it and how John saw Jesus walking within the lampstands. The lampstands represent the seven churches, and the messages God gave to those seven churches. They represent His church being the Light because Jesus is the Light. He is the Light.

Oh, when we get to heaven, there’s going to be no other light except Him. He will fill heaven with His light. We can hardly even understand the light of God, but He is light, and now He wants us to be His light in this dark and deceived world.

What does it say? Now Jesus says, “You! I’m back in heaven, but you are now my representatives. You are the light of the world.” That’s what He wants us to be. That’s what this beautiful golden menorah speaks of, of Jesus being the Light, and we, who belong to Him, we, who are His body, being the Light of God in this world.

Back in the tabernacle and temple they had to light the menorah every morning and every evening to keep it going, because God said it must never go out. It is to burn continually. Of course, the lamp had gone out in this time.

Just a few weeks ago, I was sharing with you a passage in 2 Chronicles 29. Hezekiah is the ruler of Judah. He followed on from his very wicked father who had allowed the lamps in the temple to go out! God had said, “It must never go out!” But now, here again, and this time, this time of Hanukkah, it happened between the Old Testament and the New Testament, about 157 BC.

Once again, the lamps had gone out. The Maccabees are wanting to get them burning and glowing again! They tried some oil. Well, there was only enough for one day. They couldn’t get any old oil, because in the Scriptures, it tells the recipe for the oil. It had to be just as God said.

It took eight days to prepare the oil and there was only enough for one day. While they were waiting, miraculously the lights kept burning for eight days! It doesn’t actually tell us about this in the Bible, but tradition is carried down and they believed that is what happened. That’s what the Festival of Lights is all about.

It was about two things, actually, well, three things.

1. It’s about the bravery of the Maccabees, and how they would not give into the deception of the hour in which they were living. They stood against them, even though it cost them their lives. Most of the brothers were killed in the battles. Of course, that is a challenge for us today as we seek to stand against all the deceptions that are coming in in this hour.

1. It also speaks of dedication, and dedicating our lives, because when the Maccabees retrieved and got back the temple and began to cleanse it and restore it, and get it all back into working order, they dedicated the temple. That’s why it’s called the “Feast of Dedication.”

Of course, we no longer have a temple in Jerusalem, and we know that when Jesus died and shed His blood, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Now we have access into the holy Presence of God. That is a beautiful thing. But just as they dedicated the temple back to the Lord, and to His purposes, it’s a good thing.

We love, at this time, when we’re celebrating Hanukkah, we usually take one of the days of the eight days to make it a time when we ourselves dedicate our temples again to the Lord, because our bodies are now His temp: “Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” Our bodies now house the Presence of God. We are His temple.

But so sadly, sometimes our temples get a bit crowded, don’t they, with the things of this world. Sin creeps in, worldliness creeps in, and sometimes we are not the true holy temples He wants us to be. It’s really very wonderful to have a time, not just on your own, but with your family, that as a family you dedicate your temples again to the Lord.

1. It was about the bravery of the Maccabees, the dedicating of the temple back to the Lord, and the lighting of the lamps again. Of course, we remember the miracle. He wants our lamps to be bright and burning. If we’re dedicating our temple house to the Lord, then the light should be burning brightly, shouldn’t it?

We, as mothers in the home, we have the responsibility of keeping the light of God burning in our homes. That’s why the privilege is given to the mother on the eve of Shabbat to light the candles. The mother lights the candles each week because she has that privilege to keep the light burning in her home.

I must also share with you how this word, “Hanukkah,” is mentioned in the New Testament. But in the Old Testament, it’s mentioned on five different occasions. Actually, before I share that with you, I should tell you what we actually do during Hanukkah.

We light the candles. For day one, one candle. Second day, two candles, and so on, until the last day, the eighth day, we are lighting eight candles to remember what happened. We usually do this in the evening at our evening meal. Also, during one of the nights, we will have that time of rededicating our temples to the Lord. We also read the Scriptures, though usually in our family devotions every morning and every evening we read from The Daily Light, which are Scriptures on a certain theme. We love it. We do that year after year. We never get tired of it.

But during Hanukkah, we read Scriptures about the light. There are so many in the Word of God! For each day, we’ll do it on a different subject.

The first day, we read Scriptures about how God is the source of light.

Day two, how Jesus is the Light of the world.

Day three, how we are to shine the light of Jesus to the world. There are enough Scriptures for every morning and every evening.

Day four, God’s Word is our light.

Day five, walk in the light.

Day six, how we have come out of darkness into light.

Day seven, living in God is to live in the light.

Day eight, God is the Light of heaven. We so enjoy doing this.

You are listening to this, and Hanukkah is over now, but you can pop it in the back of your mind, and think, “Oh, wow, I could maybe do this next year.” If ever you want to have a list of the Scriptures, I can send them to you.

It’s not only a Jewish feast, but also a biblical feast, because it’s mentioned in the Bible. I think it’s a great thing to do because we learn so much from it. In the Old Testament, there are five times when this word “Hanukkah,” or “chanak,” the verb, is used. It’s interesting that they all revolve around the house and the family. I want to share them with you today.

No. 1. DEDICATING A NEW HOME

The. first one, number one, is found in Deuteronomy 20:5. It’s when the men were going out to war. It says: “And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it?” That’s chanak. “Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.”

It seems, as we read this, that it is a biblical practice to dedicate a new house to the Lord. When you built a new home, did you have a celebration and dedication of your house to the Lord? Maybe you didn’t even think about it. But here's a Scripture telling us about it. I think it’s a great idea, don’t you? I think it’s a wonderful thing to think about.

Maybe you have some friends who are going to be soon moving into a new house. Why don’t you put on a surprise celebration? Or maybe you might have to tell them about it. Say, “Can we come and have a celebration, and all bring something to bless your new home?” That’s a wonderful thing. Everyone can bring a little gift to bless their new home.

Sometimes it’s like when people are getting married. Back when I was getting married . . . Today they have bridal showers and bring them all these different things. We used to be more practical back in those days, I guess because we weren’t so affluent. Today, everybody can get any food they want anywhere, but back in my early days (wow, I’m not that ancient) but things have changed.

Back then, it was amazing to have food in the cupboards. People would have what we called a “pantry evening.” Everybody would bring some food for their pantry, food that would last so it wouldn’t go off. Packaged foods, tinned food, often homemade preserved foods, and so on.

But you can think of something like that to bless this family as they’re going into a new home. Or I think even a home where people are going into a house that’s already been owned by someone. Sometimes that’s even more important, because you need to go in and cleanse the home. You don’t know what’s happened in it before the couple moved in, or before you are moving in. I think it’s so important to cleanse a home and then rededicate it to the Lord. Can you say “amen” to that?

No. 2. DEDICATING THE TABERNACLE

That was back in the wilderness. That was really the house of the Lord. It was a place for God, a sanctuary for God in the midst of this world. This is where God dwelt, in the Holy of Holies, in all His shekinah glory. But when they had completed making everything for the tabernacle, they dedicated it.

You can read about it in Numbers 7:10-11, 84. Each of the princes of the twelve tribes of Israel had to have a turn at dedicating and giving an offering on the altar. Every tribe had to be involved. There was a prince chosen from every tribe. That would have taken 12 days to do that dedication.

No. 3. DEDICATING THE TEMPLE

When Solomon dedicated the temple. It started with the tabernacle, which, when they went into the Promised Land, they established in Shiloh. It was there, I think, for about 430 years. Then it was desecrated in war.

It was King David’s vision, but eventually his son Solomon built the temple. This was a glorious building. It was covered with gold. Can you imagine just looking out at this glorious temple, literally, literally sparkling and shining in the sun with all that gold? Oh, it must have been incredible! But it took him seven years to build. Then they dedicated it, King Solomon and all the children of Israel. 1 Kings 8:63, and it also repeats it in Chronicles.

That was number three. Do you know this? Do you know this? It’s all about the house, the house of the Lord. Or a new house where someone is going to live. God wants our homes to be dedicated to Him.

No. 4. DEDICATING THE WALLS AND GATES OF JERUSALEM

In Nehemiah 12:27, where after they had built up the walls of Jerusalem, they dedicated them to the Lord.

No. 5. DEDICATING OUR CHILDREN

Wow, this will be a surprise!

This Scripture, I’m sure you know. Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” That word “train” there is exactly the same word as is used for a dedication. It’s chanak. It’s the same word.

We often think, “Train up a child in the way he should go.” OK, that’s disciplining him, and training him, and teaching him the right way to go.” Yes, that is absolutely true. Yes. But when we get the full picture, mothers, and I want you to get this today, the full picture is that when we are training up our child, we are actually dedicating him to God, to His service.

In every interaction we have with our child, whatever we say to him, however we teach him, train him, whatever we’re doing, how we’re programming his life, it’s all because this child is dedicated for the purposes of the Lord.

Don’t you think that that would change a little the way we parent our children? Because if we’re to see that everything I do is all because I’m dedicating him to God for His purposes? Wow! That’s incredible, isn’t it! All these things to do with family, even the house of the Lord. God wants each one of our homes to be His house, so we dedicate it. We dedicate it to the Lord.

Just one thing as we’re closing down. Time always flies. I want to tell you, and remind me and all of us, but what is really entailed? We go back to the house of the Lord in the tabernacle, the house of the Lord in the temple, and what happened there? Because all this has to do with consecrating our children to the Lord.

This is the order of the house. These are the things that God wanted to happen in His house. I wonder if they are happening in our homes. This is a very powerful way in which we are consecrating our children to the Lord. What happens in the tabernacle? What happens in the temple? It was only the priests who could do these functions, but now we’re all priests unto God. Revelation tells us that now we are kings and priests unto our God.

The first thing they did was the daily sacrifice, morning and evening, which, of course, points to Calvary. This is one of the reasons, ladies, why we do our family devotions in the morning and evening. It is the pattern of the tabernacle and the temple. We come together into the Presence of the Lord.

Every time we come, I love to thank the Lord, to thank Jesus for His offering His Body on the tree for my sins. Back then, we look back to those sacrifices, which all pointed to Christ. Every single one pointed to Christ who is the sacrifice. Now I can look back to Christ, to His sacrifice, and thank Him. I love to do that as we come together each day.

The next thing they did before the priests went into the Holy Place, they had to wash. They had to go through the laver. That speaks of the washing and the cleansing of the Word. That’s why we come and we read the Word every morning and evening.

Number three. Then they had to attend to the furniture in the Holy Place. The first was to light the lamps. That’s what Hanukkah is all about, the relighting of the lamps, the rededicating of our temples unto the Lord, because God wants His light to burn continually in our lives, and in our homes.

The only way we can keep it burning continually is to tend to it in the morning and evening. That’s what God mandated. He said, “Every morning you’re to fill them with oil,” speaking of the filling of the Holy Spirit. “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” We can’t live our lives as mothers . . . Oh, how can we live in victory without the anointing of the Holy Ghost in our lives every moment of the day? But we can refill every morning, every evening, to keep that light burning.

Then they had to light the altar of incense, morning and evening so that beautiful incense could fill the Holy Place. The altar of incense, I’ve shared with you before many times, speaks of praise and worship and intercession before God. He wants us to come, morning and evening, to pray, to seek His face, and to pray on behalf of those who need our prayers. This is the order of the tabernacle, of the House of the Lord. If we’re dedicating our house to the Lord, we’ll want to establish that order in our homes.

Then, of course, there’s the table of showbread, where they had the 12 loaves of bread upon the table, continually. They were never off the table. Well, they actually were there for a week and then the priest would have to put 12 new loaves on. They would have one set of priests . . . as one set was taking the loaves off that had been there for a week, the next set of priests would be putting the new ones down so there was never a second when the bread was not on the table.

It was a type of Jesus being our continual bread. He is our sustenance. He is our food. He is our bread. He is all we need. We can come to Him at any time. We can come to His Word and find sustenance. Oh, how absolutely wonderful!

And then, of course, the Holy of Holies, where the shekinah glory of God dwells! Back in those days, only the high priest could go into the Holy Presence of God. But when Jesus died, that veil was split in two. Now we have access into His Presence. Now we can ask God to come and fill our homes with His Presence.

This is the ultimate, to seek to make a way for the Presence of God in our homes. All these beautiful things show us the order of how He wants us, our homes, to function, as we rededicate them to the Lord, and rededicate our temples.

“Dear Father, we want to thank You for Your Word, and for this beautiful Feast of Dedication, this Festival of Lights, where we remember, Lord, this menorah that You designed. You designed this to be made out of one piece, because You are One, and yet You are Three, and You want your body, which is many, to be one, to be one in unity together.

“Lord God, You want us now to shine, to shine to the world. Help us, Lord. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Shine Your light upon any dark areas, so that, Lord God, we will truly be Your Light in this world. That not only individually, but we, as families and homes, will be Lighthouses in this world, and in our neighborhood. We ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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